The project is funded through federal dollars earmarked specifically for highway beautification. The NCDOT helmed the project but the New Leaf Society helped plan the landscape design.

The New Leaf Society is a group of private citizens who donate money and assist local governments with beautifying streets and public areas.

“We work together to try to pick corridors and projects that could be improved … just to show people that we care about where we live and that it’s a beautiful place to live and enjoy life,” said Ken Taffer, NCDOT Division 7 roadside environmental engineer.

The project includes pruning existing trees and shrubs that were overgrown, adding a variety of new foliage and mulching.

That variety will add aesthetic interest throughout changing seasons, said Tom Flood, of the New Leaf Society and Elon University’s director of landscaping. All of those plants are also tolerant of difficult growing conditions along the interstate.

“They have to be able to handle a lot of exposure, a lot of wind and be low-maintenance,” Flood said.

The design will also make it easier for future crews to mow and maintain, Taffer said.

Another interchange improvement is scheduled for the N.C. 119 exit in Mebane after it’s widened next year, Taffer said. The county’s remaining interstate exits were landscaped within the last few years.

Country Boy Landscaping of Harmony won the state bid and will be planting along the interstate through June. The plants are insured for two years, Taffer said.